Transocean Gets Contract for GSF Explorer

Friday, February 15, 2008

Transocean Inc. was awarded of a 689-day contract by a consortium headed by Marathon International Petroleum Indonesia Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation, for the ultra-deepwater drillship GSF Explorer to drill a series of exploration wells in a deepwater province in Indonesia. The Makassar Strait Explorers Consortium (MSEC) comprises Marathon International Petroleum Indonesia Ltd, Anadarko Popodi Ltd, ConocoPhillips (Kuma) Ltd, ENI Bukat Ltd, Statoil Indonesia Karama AS and Talisman (Sageri) Ltd.
The 689-day contract is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2009 following the completion of existing contractual commitments in Angola and mobilization to the Makassar Strait, a deepwater province receiving renewed interest as a result of recent leasing activity.
The estimated contract revenues which could be generated over the 689-day contract period are approximately $351 million. Estimated contract revenues represent the maximum amount of revenues that may be earned in the firm contract period, excluding revenues for mobilization and demobilization. The GSF Explorer is one of 18 Ultra-Deepwater Floaters in the Transocean fleet. Constructed in 1972 and upgraded in 1998, the drillship is capable of working in water depths up to 7,800 ft.